It sounds like you know what many are unaware of, and that is that some hepatitis C infections resolve without treatment.  This occurs about 15 to 25 percent of the time. Infants and young women are more likely to clear hepatitis C spontaneously.  Roughly, 40 percent of women under age 40 are able to resolve hep C without medication. 

The initial phase of a hep C infection is called acute. If the virus remains after 6 months, it’s a chronic infection. After that point, hepatitis C treatment is necessary for clearing the virus. Fortunately, the latest hep C medicines are able to cure nearly everyone. Typically, hep C treatment lasts about 12 weeks and has few side effects.